Thursday, September 06, 2007

A Few Good Seats

"The “Tickets for the Troops” initiative is just the latest example of the NHL supporting the men and women of the armed forces."

Forgive me my cynicism, but I find this move by the Oilers to have season-ticket holders give up their tickets to Canadian soldiers to be more than a tad disingenuous. You'll note that the above quote is in the NHL.com story I linked to. What it is saying, quite proudly, is that the National Hockey League is supporting the Canadian Armed Forces, when in fact that is not the case. If this "Ticket to the Troops" projects is a success, it will be because of the support of the season-ticket holders in the city of Edmonton. There is no indication that the National Hockey League or the Edmonton Oilers are paying a dime for this. No sets of tickets have been put aside for the troops, with the cost covered by the league or the Edmonton Investors Group. That could have been accomplished, of course, by something as simple as putting aside sets of tickets that normally go into the mini-pacs or ticket booth sales. But that isn't going to happen. In fact, it says right in the article that the Oilers are going to wait until those mini-pacs and additional seats are sold, and then ask people to donate them back. The bottom line is the bottom line, after all.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's fantastic that the men and women of the Canadian Armed Forces are going to get a night off to relax, be honoured, and enjoy a free game of NHL hockey. They deserve it more than any of us. I'd just prefer it if the Oilers and the NHL had offered to pay for some of those tickets themselves, or if not, shown a little humility in their declarations about who is actually supporting the venture. It should be noted that at least one organization got it right, and are chipping in their own money to help out the cause. Rexall has purchased a large number of tickets which they will donate to the troops. Boy, that Daryl Katz guy is a real monster. I wonder if Kerry Diotte, Neil Waugh and Terry Jones got the news.

I bought 2 weekend packs in the gold since that was all that is left. Cost me $2592 or $432/gm for my 3yr old and myself to go see the oilers. Thats .54% of my gross income. Call nichols supposedly owns 14 car dealerships. They sell at 5 cars a day a vehicle margin of at least $2000. Thats a gross income of 51M. If he donates $275400 I will donate mine.

This was announced after I purchased my tickets.

Puts a person in a tough spot. I support the troops but my son comes before them.

And If i give the tickets away, I guess kids for cancer with have to do without my yearly $400 this year.

Only because nobody in the Flames organization, or the City of Calgary for that matter, is literate enough to put together a press release announcing it that wouldn't be a complete embarassment to the organization.

Only because nobody in the Flames organization, or the City of Calgary for that matter, is literate enough to put together a press release announcing it that wouldn't be a complete embarassment to the organization.

Not sure how this puts you in a tough spot, rickibear. You don't want to be hoodwinked into giving up your tickets, then simply don't give up your tickets. There's other ways of "supporting the troops" shold you desire to do so in your own way.

You could, for example, do as 90 per cent of the populations does and merely mouth platitudes to the effect of "I support the troops." That and five bucks for a yellow ribbon magnet for your car oughta do it.

I want a ribbon magnet that says "I support the RMMA (Ribbon Magnet Manufacturers Association)."

You don't have to donate tickets if you don't want to. If you really want to support the troops, and want to donate something, then help out a charity that aids disabled veterans. The mental health toll is going to be a nightmare, and there is still a real stigma attached to it. Not to mention the number of veterans living with injuries that in previous wars would have surely killed them.

In the long run, a few bucks a year to that cause would do more good than a one-shot hockey ticket donation for the troops, anyway.